Australian PM stands firm on Iraq

Australia's prime minister John Howard has said he respects the views of hundreds of thousands of peace protesters who marched over the weekend, but will not be swayed by their opposition to war with Iraq.

Australia's prime minister John Howard has said he respects the views of hundreds of thousands of peace protesters who marched over the weekend, but will not be swayed by their opposition to war with Iraq.

"This is a very difficult issue, and I respect the fact that a lot of Australians don't agree with me on this," he told television's Nine Network.

"In the end, my charge as prime minister is to take whatever decision I think is in the best interests of the country, and I believe the way we are handling this is in the best interests of Australia."

Howard is one of the staunchest supporters of Washington's tough line on Iraq and has not ruled out sending Australian troops to war without a United Nations mandate. He already has dispatched 2,000 troops to the Persian Gulf to prepare for a conflict.

He said many Australians supported his stance but did not hit the streets to chant about it.

His comments followed a series of anti-war rallies that choked streets in cities and towns across Australia from Friday to Sunday.